Parallel structure is really a matter of balance. Balancing a sentence can be compared to balancing a scale if we pretend that certain words -- and, or, but -- are the balancing points and if we understand that the words being balanced must carry the same "weight" in the sentence. One part of speech or of a sentence can be balanced only by one (or a series) of the same kind.

Notice that modifiers (like "down by the pier," "with the sunrise," and "of the fisherman") do not affect the balance of the sentences.

Unbalanced

I enjoy bikingandto walk down by the pier.

Parallel

I enjoy bikingandwalking down by the pier.

This example sentence is unbalanced because "and" divides two different parts of speech. An "ing" word is used before and,while an infinitive, "to walk," is used after. To make the sentence parallel, simply use the same part of speech for both ideas.

Unbalanced

Boy Scouts at the camp can learn cooking, canoeing, swimming, orhow to make ropes.

Here again, the form of the last item, "how to make ropes," doesn't match the other items and seems too heavy. To balance the sentence, change the form to match as in the parallel example.

Unbalanced

Non-traditional students often study long hours, get limited sleep, andup again with the sunrise.

Parallel

Non-traditional students often study long hours, get limited sleep, andare up again with the sunrise.

This time the sentence is unbalanced because the first two phrases include verbs, "study" and "get," but the last phrase doesn't contain a verb. To be parallel, each phrase should follow the pattern of the first one in the series. This can be accomplished by adding a verb to the last phrase.

A slightly different parallelism involves the common connectors-- either/or, neither/nor, not only/but also. Here, the kind of word or part of a sentence that follows the first connector must be the same as the kind following the second. Consider the following examples.

The storm front was moving eithereast through Minneapolisornortheast through Duluth.

Here the two prepositional phrases are parallel; they are the same kind of structure.

Unbalanced

The hurricane not onlydestroyed the fishing fleetbut alsothe homes of the fishermen.

Parallel

The hurricane destroyed not onlythe fishing fleetbut alsothe homes of the fishermen.

In this case, the verb "destroyed" cannot balance the noun "homes." The sentence should be rewritten so that "destroyed" appears before "not only" and so nouns follow both connectors.

This page was written by Becky Marchant for the Write Place, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, Minnesota, and may be copied for educational purposes only. If you copy this document, please include our copyright notice and the name of the writer; if you revise it, please add your name to the list of writers.